| For
the Poor
To date, most women using IT have come from the educated
elite. Yet if poor women in developing countries can overcome
the constraints that presently prevent their access, they
can use IT to help increase access to resources and exercise
fundamental rights. To this end, technological and social
solutions must respond to the constraints that currently keep
poor women from using IT. Among the most interesting potential
solutions are those underway in India, a country that has
become a source of innovation for IT applications designed
to meet the needs of the poor. These include projects by SEWA,
Gyandoot/Dhar, Tarahaat, and the Indian National Dairy Development
Board. Unfortunately, while many such efforts have been tested
in pilot projects around the world, few have proven to be
easily replicable.
| Barefoot
Managers Online |
| The
Self-Employed Women's Association(SEWA) in India is
establishing Technology Information Centres in Gujarat
to provide computer awareness training and basic computer
skills for their "barefoot mangers." The IT
capacity of women organizers and leaders will strengthen
their members' microenterprises. Electronic networking
also is expected to strengthen the connections between
the various cooperatives working in different sectors
and areas.
ILO,
"The
information technology revolution: Widening or bridging
gender gaps." |
|
Nancy
Hafkin and 
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